Bottle sealing device



fabricated of a resilient plastic material.

Patented Oct. 24, 1950 BOTTLE SEALING DEVICE Jean R. L. Martin, NewYork, N. Y., assignor to -Coty, Inc., Wilmington, Del., a corporation ofDelaware Application March 26, 1949, Serial No. 83,585

This invention relates to bottle sealing devices.

Perfume bottles or the like are generally provided with a decorative capso that the user of the perfum may have access thereto. This cap isgenerally unfit for producin an effective eal as otherwise it would bedifficult for the user to apply and remove it, Accordingly, the practiceby producers of bottled perfume is to insert a temporary Sealing devicewhich serves from the time the package is assembled until first use bythe consumer. Such a sealing device remains in place during transit andduring the shelf life of the article. In general, after the firstremoval thereof, it is discarded, although in the present invention, itmay be used throughout the life of the article, if desired.

It has been difiicult to provide a sealing device which effectivelyprevents leaking of fluid and without requiring complicated assemblingtechniques. The present invention provides an extremely simple form ofsealing member which has been found to perform its functions withextreme effectiveness.

The sealing member of the instant invention takes the form of aone-piece resilient plastic stopper having a substantially hollow bodyand wherein an integral portion of the device performs a spring functionin urgin the body into its normal shape in every direction. Accordingly,the stopper effects firm sealing contact with the inner walls of thebottle mouth notwithstanding. irregularities in the shape 'of suchmouth. The device may be removed by the con sumer withoutgreatdifficulty and it may be replaced when desired.

The invention will be further understood from the following descriptionand drawings in which:

Fig. l. is an elevational view of the sealing member showing itsapplication to the mouth of a bottle.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 22 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the device.

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view thereof.

The article takes the form of a stopper having a body l and a shoulderM. It is preferably For example, it has been found that polyethylene isa very satisfactory material for this purpose. Polyethylene can befabricated so as to be resilient and it is largely inert andnon-absorbent so as not to be affected by the liquid perfume in thebottle B. The leading end l2 of the body (referrin to its introductioninto the body mouth) is tapered or beveled inwardly so as to 2 Claims.,(Cl. 215-47) 2 be of lesser diameter than the body.

Body I0 is substantially hollow and thin-walled as shown and an interiorspring member is formed therein. This spring member takes the form of acone 93 the rim of which connects to the inner wall of body It) by beinintegral thereremainder of the with. The apex Id of the cone terminatesjust short of the leading edge of the body. Cone l3 appears as adepression when viewed from the top of the device as illustrated in Fig.4. It is circular in cross-section and, being of a resilient material,tends to push outwardly upon the inner walls of body H] in response to acompressive force on the outer walls. Since cone I3 is circular, itsaction is effective in all directions.

The sealing member or stopper is applied to bottle B by introducing itsleading or beveled end !2 into the mouth of the bottle and pressing uponit. Bottles as presently manufactured have the neck opening taperingslightly toward the mouth. Some times a slight lip on the mouth causesit to be narrower in diameter, but in any event, the necks of suchbottles are rarely perfectly cylindrical. When the body In is pushedinwardly, it conforms to the shape of the neck or mouth regardless ofits formation, whether tapered or cylindrical. Conical spring member I3effectively urges body l0 radially outwardl in all directions so as toperform an extremely efficient sealing function.

The device is removed by inserting a finger nail or other object belowthe shoulder II and lifting upwardly. It is of extreme simplicity as faras manufacture and assembly with the bottle are concerned. It is moldedin one piece of resilient plastic material and is applied by a mostsimple procedure as described above. The hollow spring member, althoughshown as coming to a point, may be rounded off or may be spherical orarcuate in cross section as will be evident. It is the divergent sidesfrom the center line thereof which create the spring action. The top ofthe spring member is integrally connected at about the center of bodyIE! and, as will be apparent, it may well be reversed in that the apexl4 may extend toward the top instead of the bottom end. 7 While therehas been shown what at present is considered a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, it will be evident that many changes and modificationsmay be made therein without departing from its spirit. It is thereforeaimed in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modificationswhich fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A bottle mouth sealing device comprising a substantially hollowtubular body of resilient plastic material, a shoulder formed adjacentone end of said body, and a hollow substantially conical member havingits rim integrally joined with the inner wall of said body atapproximately the center of said inner wall and the apex extendingtoward an end of said body, said conical member being of resilientplastic material so as to exert an outward thrust against said innerWall of said body in response to a compressive action against the outerwall of said body when said body is inserted into the opening of abottle mouth,

2. A bottle mouth sealing device comprising a substantially hollow,tubular body of resilient plastic material, and a conical spring memberformed internally of said body, said conical member having its rimintegral with the inner wall of said body at approximately the center ofthe body and having its apex extending toward one end of the body, saidconical member being formed of the same resilient plastic material assaid body so as to exert an outward thrust against said inner wall ofsaid body in response to a compressive action against the outer wall ofsaid body when said body is inserted into the opening of a bottle mouth.

JEAN R. L. MARTIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,413,703 Biehn Apr. 25, 19222,325,309 DeSwart July 27, 1943 2,388,169 McAlevy et a1 Oct. 30, 19452,416,069 Scott Feb. 18, 1947

